Donald Smith protests a sign at Glenmore Landing stating that protesting is prohibited. The southwest strip mall is home to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s constituency office.

Photograph by: Christina Ryan
, Calgary Herald

CALGARY — A sign posted at a southwest Calgary strip mall, which includes Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s constituency office, is generating debate about whether people are allowed to protest on the property.

A lone man picketed at Glenmore Landing on Sunday, complaining the notice prohibiting political or public protesting was a violation of his rights as a Canadian.

“I’m a taxpayer, I put money in the system,” said Donald Smith, 33, of Calgary. “Peaceful assembly is a right.”

The sign, tacked up at the south entrance on 14th Street near 90th Avenue S.W., indicates the mall is private property and that the parking lot is only for customers shopping at the complex, or for those doing business with or visiting tenants.

“Political or public protesting or demonstrating, soliciting, use of loud speakers or other similar devices, pamphleteering, loitering, skateboarding is strictly prohibited,” the sign reads.

Idle No More protesters congregated there in January. And in September, members of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers gathered to protest working conditions inside Canada’s federal prisons.

Kevin Grabowsky, the union’s regional president, said the sign was erected a day before his group’s protest, while the property management company said it’s been in place for a few years.

Andrew MacDougall, director of communications for the Prime Minister’s Office, said he was unaware that the sign existed but has had no concerns with past protests.

“Protests are a part of politics and Canadians are free to protest as long as the law is being respected,” MacDougall wrote in an e-mail. “The sign is a matter for the mall operators to address.”

The property manager didn’t see any issue with the sign.

“I don’t understand why this sign is a concern,” said Catherine Aird of RioCan Management Inc., before referring further questions to a corporate office in Toronto.

Contrary to what many believe, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which includes the right to peaceful assembly, does not apply at Glenmore Landing, said civil liberties advocate and educator Linda McKay-Panos.

“Many assume they have charter rights because they assume this is a public place,” said McKay-Panos, executive director of the Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre, which does civil liberties research and education.

“The problem is, it’s privately-owned, and consequently, the charter does not apply.”

Indoor malls, campuses, airports, and other privately-owned properties where large numbers of the public are invited are also often mistaken for public places, she said.

She noted it’s completely within the rights of private property owners to rely on bylaws or trespass laws to limit access to the property, as long as the signs aren’t discriminatory or in violation of human rights.

In this case, the sign is citing municipal parking bylaw 41M2002. The Calgary Parking Authority can’t dictate what a private company writes on its signs, as long as any bylaws cited on those signs are in accordance with the parking authority’s requirements.

“I can’t comment on protests or demonstrations, but we deal with non-moving parking violations,” said Miles Dyck, manager of parking enforcement.

Dyck said he can only remove non-compliant vehicles off private lots, not people.

“The other signage and the other information (on their signs) is up to them,” he added.

As long as the signage at the entrance clearly indicates that the property is privately-owned, visitors who park in the lot must abide by the rules of the bylaw. If not, bylaw officers can be called in for enforcement, Dyck added.

However, McKay-Panos said some authors and academics are examining whether the charter should be amended to include exceptions allowing peaceful protests on certain private properties where members of the public are invited.

“Since the advent of the charter, a number of academics have said, ‘We’ve got these big places, this is where we meet, and what are we going to do about that?’ ” she said.

“Maybe there will be some changes in the future. Peaceful protest is a right we have in Canada, and people don’t like to be limited.”

With files from Bryan Weismiller and Stephane Massinon, Calgary Herald

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